Type (Dis)Advantages
by Yotsubadancesintherain5
Summary: You start your Pokèmon journey and it's kind of an uphill climb. Part 5 of the Yotsuba & Frisk series.


When you woke up that day, you just _knew. _It was calling you, your feet aching to step outside your tiny town and see the grandness of the region, your eyes a little teary with sleep but alert and an excitement that bubbled its way to your brain.

You were going to start your Pokèmon journey.

You weren't unprepared, but it had been a long battle of when it was appropriate to go. Not this season, there are Ursuring wandering about, not that season, the winter snow will freeze you. Your mom might have playfully called you wishy-washy and ruffled your hair if you knew your mom.

You hurry up and get dressed, pulling your hat snugly over your head. It was a birthday present from your dad.

You eat breakfast quickly, almost coughing on the water when you drink it too fast, and your dad gives you running shoes. Flats will get you nowhere fast.

You say good-bye and head to the next town over. Since you have a knack for walking quietly you don't disrupt any wild Pokèmon. Besides, you have your running shoes, you're invincible.

You walk into the lab and call out for someone, you're here for a Pokèmon? You're greeted by a little kid in a lab coat silently walking up to you and grinning.

You bend down and ask them where their parents are, or if the professor is in. The kid's grin grows wider and they sign their name and say that they are the professor. You almost start laughing but it would seem cruel to make fun of a kid playing around.

You see someone else in the back of the lab and ask if she is the professor. She shakes her head and says that the child in front of you is the professor. There's an inflection of pride in her voice.

You blink and Professor Frisk explains that they are a prodigy and wouldn't you like to see the starters? Their little hands move rapidly and you remember why you're here and say yes.

Picking your starter is a breeze, and Professor Frisk presents you with a Pokèdex. They affectionately call it Dexter.

You head out the door, saying good-bye to Professor Frisk and their mother. You didn't realize it when you first walked in, but there was a pile of toys by the door.

The first gym is a Rock Type one and you win by the skin of your teeth. Gym Leader Sans commends you for your hard work, though you quietly complain to yourself that he seemed to be holding back.

"it's not gonna get easier from here on out," he says. "keep your head above water, kid. oh, and uh, take this HM. you'll need it."

You pin the badge to your trainer case and eagerly open up the HM to teach it to a Pokèmon.

You pump your fist into the air when the path on the outskirts of town is cleared. Cutting down a tiny tree never felt so good.

When you arrive in the next town, you immediately head over to the Pokèmon Center. That hiker dealt a lot of damage.

The second gym is a Bug type and you lose when poison eats away at your last Pokèmon's health. The little kid gym leader seems to give you a sympathetic smile when you hand over 940 Pokè and have to run to the Pokèmon Center.  
You feel frustrated for having lost to a Bug type. Bug type! The kinds that are easily defeated by fire and psychic and little kids start out with them, for goodness sake!

You train for a few days in the outskirts of town. You buy ten Antidotes because Gym Leader Ena's Butterfree has that Poison Powder that got you the first time.

You don't win the second or the third time. The fourth time both of your Pokèmon hold until the last second and yours wins with a critical hit.

When it's over, you feel like you appreciate Bug types more.

When you have the fifth badge in your case, you feel the beginnings of sickness clamoring in your throat. The Gym Leader, Yanda, offers you some Pokè to stay at the local hotel but you politely refuse. It's just a little coughing and sniffling, you'll be fine.

You didn't expect the next area to be a marshy, muddy place where mud goes up to your chin. You get stuck in a few places while trekking through and have to struggle to get out. The muddy water that sticks to you, coupled with the cold breeze, makes you shiver violently. Your body feels like needles are stabbing into it and you nearly cry when you make it to the next town.

You head to the gym and the muddy water dried on your clothes to look as if you had an adventure through a chocolate-frosted cake.  
The spotlights and strobe lights in the Electric type gym makes you feel sicker and you make it to the Gym Leader before you collapse and the last thing you hear before passing out is a panicked, "Darling!"

You wake up in the Pokèmon Center, your team crowded around you and a change of clothes beside you. You put on the spare clothing, and a nurse takes away your dirty belongings before you fall back into sleep.  
When you wake up again, your clothes are laundered and your belongings clean. The heat of your team makes you feel worse so the Pokèmon lay off lying on the bed.

You don't leave until your fever breaks and you feel so well that there is no coughing or sneezes. You challenge the gym and gain your badge, the Gym Leader relieved that you are better.

When you learn the next town had a snowfall you prepare accordingly.

Gym Leader Undyne defeats you seven times before the badge is given to you. The Elite Four awaits and you have a precarious time in Victory Road.

After getting lost a couple of times and falling into the river once, not to mention Zubats clinging to you like you had every delicious Pokèmon food in the world, you stand before the Pokèmon League.

It's still uphill from here.

You defeat Elite Four member Yousuke and take a moment to catch your breath and calm your racing heart. The Champion is waiting up ahead.

As you heal up your Pokèmon and give them encouragements, Yousuke calls you over.

"My daughter is up ahead," he says. He grins and there's a deep level of pride in that grin. "I won't be surprised if she sends you right back to the beginning of this."

You take his words as a precaution to be on your guard and walk ahead.

You enter the Champion room and the door closes behind you. You walk around the room, slowly turning to see the vastness of the ceiling.

You didn't notice until you turned around, but there's a pile of toys near the door.

You see a little kid in the center of the room and you don't think it's a mistake. Champion Yotsuba grins and challenges you.

She isn't here for nothing. On her last Pokèmon, Milotic, she sweeps five sixths of your weakened team. The only saving grace that you have is the Toxic that you inflicted on the serpentine Pokèmon and when both of you are neck and neck, Toxic drains away the last sliver of health Milotic has left.

When the battle is over, you feel light-headed and shaky on your legs. Yotsuba just grabs your hand and jumps up and down, yelling out congratulations.

She leads you to the hallway to the Hall of Fame. Professor Frisk comes running in and congratulates you on your win.

Yotsuba hugs them and says how great a trainer you have become. She leads the both of you to the Hall of Fame.

The data recorder is covered in stickers.

You place your Pokèmon in the slots and watch as the machine records them.

Getting here was an uphill climb and worth every step.

**A/N: Originally posted on Ao3 on November 20 2016**

**Pokèmon will always have a place in my heart.****  
****The end battle is based on when I was a kid and played Pokèmon Diamond. Cynthia took out all but one of my team, which was a Pichu. Toxic ate away at Milotic and I managed to win because my Pichu held out until the very end. I don't think I can ever replicate that but I was both really happy and shocked that I managed to win.**


End file.
